Backfill: Straightening an Old House

Straightening an Old House
by Carol U. Sisler
The building was the worst wreck in
Ithaca, N.Y. It had been condemned by
the building commissioner as unfit for
human habitation, though it had never
been built for human habitation in the
first place. It had operated as a pottery
workshop from 1841 to 1890, when it
was fitted out for apartment living with
rudimentary wiring and plumbing, lath,
and plaster. But it had no insulation
and no central heat.
It did have a good location though. It
was situated on a deep lot by itself at the
foot of Ithaca Falls within walking distance
of Cornell University and downtown.
It also had a good pedigree – it
was